Polyend Tracker is the other hardware tracker out there. Similar price though.

It's never too late to get started! Also, if you're keen to try M8 before investing, you can make a "headless" M8 from a $30 teensy board, but you have to use it via a web emulator. If that sounds intimidating in any way, it's really not - there's no enclosure, no soldering, and no real configuration other than just flashing the teensy with a GUI app.

https://github.com/DirtyWave/M8Docs/blob/main/docs/M8Headles...

I've been using M8 for ~4 years now, it's an amazing and fun way to make music, and I think it gels for a lot of people who aren't traditionally trained in music.